I was in Basic from August to December of 1969 at Fort Jackson, S.C.

I have both good and bad memories.

Wherever we went outdoors, even to mess hall, we always had to run. If the drill sergeants spotted us walking, we had to do push-ups.

I had kitchen police, washing dishes, and mess hall made me only use hot water. Ouch!

I used a kitchen floor buffer for first time. I couldn't control it and almost wrecked the chairs and tables.

While jumping up from a prone position, I kicked dirt on my M-16, so I had to do push-ups.

While running, I heard my name called. Turned out it was a high school classmate from back in New York. It's a small world.

Take your pick.